Eemprove 'er Eeenglish
by Sly as a Fawkes
Summary: Bill's not sure how to proceed with this new development


**A.N. Yes, once again Not Alone is playing. God this song is amazing.**

**Next character(s)!**

**Disclaimer: Any characters, situations, events, etc. below that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. If only I were cool enough to have come up with them first...**

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Bill had decided at a young age that the whole "settling down" and getting married was just not for him. That was Percy and Ron. (Fred and George were just way to difficult to decipher.) Sure, girls were great fun for a time, but then he'd start to feel suffocated and tired of the relationship.

Egypt had been amazing. Plenty of pretty girls to fill the time in between being a regular hero and breaking curses. Yes, Egypt was definitely the life.

But then things were getting worse back home, so he decided it was time to pack up and head on back to England, back to a boring desk job that reminded him of a relationship. Suffocating and tiring.

Until a new pretty girl came along. And boy, was this one pretty. Pretty didn't even begin to cover it. Shimmering hair a color that he couldn't remember seeing on a human before, the bluest of blue eyes, and a smile that could bring a man to his knees. Oh yes, this was just what he needed to fill the hole created by the monotony of this boring desk job.

But Fleur (French. Who knew.) didn't want anything of the sort. The first day of her new job at Gringotts, Bill walked right up to her and asked if she'd like to get a drink with him after her shift. He put on his most roguish smile, had made sure his hair was neatly pulled into its ponytail, and added just the right amount of suavity to his voice as he asked.

Fleur took one look at him, sniffed in obvious displeasure, and turned the offer down, not even bothering to make up an excuse. Later, Bill decided that the reason she hadn't said she was busy was because she didn't know how to say it in English, not because she truly didn't want to go out with him. (Yes, Bill will not take a hit to his pride easily.)

Several weeks progressed and as Voldemort grew stronger and tensions were pulled tighter, Bill's fascination with the young woman grew. He had learned she was part Veela (quite a simple explanation, really), but on no occasion had he witnessed her use her gifts to work things in her favor.

Bill was partly annoyed with himself that he was spending so much time focusing on one girl (after all, there had to be other, easier conquests out there), but the larger part of him felt that this was different. There was something new about this girl, this situation, and Bill just had to find out what.

One afternoon, Bill happened to pass by a room, and noticed Fleur standing inside, waving her hands in apparent exasperation. Sitting at the desk in front of her was a goblin that looked highly unamused.

"Eet is in ze... in ze... gah! I put eet in ze place!"

The goblin's expression of immense displeasure did not waver. "Miss Delacour, please leave my office and do not return until you have remembered where the rather important file was placed. That will be all."

Fleur clenched her fists and stormed out, hair trailing behind her in a way that Bill couldn't help but find alluring.

"Alright, Fleur?"

"Eet is Miss Delacour to you, Weezly," she retorted angrily, before shoving her way past him and stalking off down the corridor. Bill was never one to let opportunities pass him by, and followed after her, easily keeping up with her brisk pace.

"So you can't find the file that he's looking for?"

Fleur's eyes filled with anger. "Non! 'E knows eexaclty where ze file iz!" she spat out. "'E simply wishes to make me seem... foolhardy beecause I do not know 'ow to say where I put eet!"

Bill contemplated her response. "Do you mean that he wishes to make you seem foolish?"

Fleur threw her hands in the air dramatically. "I do not need you fun making of me eether," she said, her voice rising in volume.

Bill decided that pointing out on her second improper phrasing would be rather 'foolhardy,' so he ignored it. "Where did you put it?" he asked kindly. "Say it in French."

Fleur sighed, her anger rapidly dissipating. "Eet is in ze _tiroir _of Monsieur Carson, where he asked me to put eet. Ze goblins 'ere are _trés horrible_."

Bill drew upon his severely limited French in hopes of solving her dilemma. "_Tiroir_...would that be a drawer?"

Fleur, who had smiled at Bill's horrific accent, gasped, her eyes lighting with happiness this time, not anger. "Beel! T'ank you so very much!" She smiled, her face alight with her ecstasy. Bill blinked, a little stunned, and tried to find his bearings.

"Um... yeah... no problem..." he stuttered, inwardly cringing at how completely daft he sounded. Fleur did not notice. Instead, she glanced up at him tentatively, her happiness fading and a look of doubt replacing it.

"Beel? Would eet be... too... forward of me, to ask if you could possibly... help with my Eeenglish?" Fleur asked, the doubt still on her face with a hopeful look behind it.

Bill paused for just a moment, thinking about is past affirmations. He could easily where this would lead: him helping her with her English, beginning to date, a surprise romantic kiss, and suddenly she's his girlfriend. After a month, he decides it's carried on far enough, and she's left heartbroken. Did he really want to do that again?

Bill glances down into her blue (so very blue) eyes, and that part of him whispers a reminder; that's she's different. And suddenly his affirmations that he always took as the truth don't seem so sure to him as they once did.

"Of course it's not too forward," Bill finally answers with a genuine smile. "After all, I can't have people fun making of you. That just wouldn't be nice."

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_"Remember old Fleur Delacour?" said George. "She's got a job at Gringotts to _eemprove 'er Eeenglish_-"_

"-_and Bill's been giving her a lot of private lessons..."_

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**A.N. Yay! Another 2 characters done. I'm not sure how much I like this one either, but when I thought about Bill, this is what came to me. Like a great ball of fire. (Well, maybe not that strong.)**

**Disclaimer #2: The quote at the bottom comes from page 70 of Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix by J.K Rowling, published by the Scholastic Press, 2003.**

**Happy January 19th! (Again.)**


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